Laggies walks the line between being a high school movie and a quarter life crisis movie in such a beautiful and simple way. The story focus is on Megan (Keira Knightly), a woman in her late twenties who is stuck in limbo. In spite of being highly educated and smart, Megan is “floating” through life. All of this changes the night of her best friend’s wedding when Megan meets a group of teenagers outside a local grocery store, specifically a girl name Annika (Chloe Grace Moretz). Annika and Megan develop a friendship in which Megan better sees her life and Annika better sees hers own as well.
This is what Lynn Shelton does best: she tells stories about people searching for themselves. I think she speaks to those of us who were told there were established paths to health and happiness only to find that the reality of life is drastically different. Shelton makes movies for those who are floating in limbo trying to figure out where they belong and for those who ended up somewhere totally unexpected.
There is a great monologue in the film given by the actor Sam Rockwell who plays Annika’s single father. In the monologue he talks about his own false belief that if only he could get certain things in place, he would suddenly feel like an adult. Instead he says that he realized what really mattered was 1) at some point you knowledge the fact that others don’t have it together either and you just need to take responsibility for who you are and where you are, and 2) when looking for a partner, find someone who has the same perception of life as you, who will laugh at the crazy things of life, and stick through it with you.
This is great advice, and there is so much hope and restoration in accepting that, in spite of what we see on Facebook, no one “doing life right.” We are all bumbling around hoping to not completely screw everything up, and at some point we just need to choose to live into that. Also it really does help to have people who are walking with you on the same part of the path, especially those who know how to have a good laugh. As someone living in the limbo of the post-education, pre-career, haze I would lost without the daily, baby steps I take out of the “floating” phase in life. For me, this has been possible only through the love and support of my friends and family.
So beyond the important and subversive act of supporting indie and female artists in an industry that barely acknowledges their presence, why should you go see Laggies?
1) My friend Eric Reidmann does this incredible dance during the wedding which had me screaming out loud with laughter.
2) if you ever wondered what it’s like to live in Seattle this is a good depiction. The feel is totally Seattle.
3) As with all Lynn Shelton’s film’s, Laggies has a subtle beauty that needs to be savored. The film as a whole is just lovely, so go out and support a great indie director!
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